A column by Sun Senior Sports Columnist CHUCK POLLOCK
A friend forwarded me an obituary the other day and it resurrected all manner of thoughts about the fabled 1983 NFL draft, the most remarkable collection of quarterbacks ever taken in the first round, the Bills, Jim Kelly and a forgotten tight end.
The latter was the subject of the obit, Tony Hunter, a 6-foot-4, 237-pound specimen from Notre Dame whom Buffalo selected with the 12th pick of Round 1 in ‘83.
He died June 11 at age 64 in his hometown of Cincinnati.
Hunter’s NFL career was decidedly unremarkable; two seasons with Buffalo and 1½ with the Rams before a leg injury ended his playing days. In those 3½ years he played 47 games (22 starts) catching 134 balls with nine touchdowns.
So why should his name strike a chord with long-time Bills fans?
Because of that 1983 Draft.
HISTORY will say it was the best first round for quarterbacks in NFL history.
In all, six were taken in those 28 selections and three were Hall of Famers — John Elway, Jim Kelly and Dan Marino — two others had decent careers — Kenny O’Brien and Tony Eason — and one, for lack of a better word, Todd Blackledge, was a “bust.”
Elway, the consensus No. 1 pick, made it clear there was no way he would play for Baltimore (then the Colts), which owned that choice. But sure enough, Robert Irsay, the Colts owner, tabbed Elway first overall, and the Stanford QB immediately announced he would play baseball for the Yankees who had also drafted him.
In a panic, Irsay sent Elway to Denver for the Broncos’ No. 4 overall pick, offensive lineman Chris Hinton.
Elway’s career is the stuff of legend but Hinton played 13 successful seasons though after an impressive rookie campaign, the next year he and the Colts moved to Indianapolis in the middle of the night.
Blackledge was the seventh pick by Kansas City, after a stellar career at Penn State. But found himself in a Chiefs offense that wasn’t suited to his skills. Blackledge played in 46 games with 39 starts in five years with Kansas City and two in Pittsburgh but went on to a successful career as a football analyst on TV.
Next up was Kelly, taken by Buffalo, 14th overall (more on that in a moment). Then came Eason at No. 15 and though his career was brief due to a slight build (6-foot-4, 210 pounds) he played 7½ seasons with the Pats, steering them to a Super Bowl, and 1½ with the Jets.
O’Brien was selected 24th by the Jets and in nine seasons he played in two Pro Bowls and took New York to three playoff berths. He finished his career with a year in Philadelphia.
Marino, plagued by unfounded rumors of drug use, fell to the 28th and final pick of the first round where Don Shula gobbled him up for Miami.
He made his only Super Bowl as a second-year pro but rewrote the NFL’s passing record book before the West Coast offense rewarded short swing passes.
That famed draft not only produced three Hall-of-Fame QBs, it also produced a trio from other positions: No. 2 running back Erick Dickerson by the Rams, guard Bruce Matthews No. 9 to Houston and cornerback Darrell Green, 27th, to Washington.
SO WHERE does Jim Kelly come in?
The Bills had the 12th overall pick, but instead used it on Hunter, who played a position where Buffalo hadn’t historically gotten much production.
They took a risk on grabbing the tight end first then, after sweating out Detroit’s pick at No. 13, running back James Jones, tabbed Kelly at 14.
It’s always made me wonder, not knowing they were delaying on picking an eventual Hall of Famer, why wait that extra pick.
Clearly, Kelly declined to sign with Buffalo and played two seasons in the USFL until Bills’ GM Bill Polian signed him for the 1986 season to begin a glittering 11-year reign in Buffalo.
Still it’s a bit different scenario than what the Patriots had with Tom Brady.
If it knew he would arguably become the greatest quarterback in pro football history, why did New England wait until the199th pick in the sixth round in the 2000 NFL Draft?
On the other hand, the rest of the league had 198 opportunities to take him … and didn’t.
(Chuck Pollock, a Wellsville Sun senior sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@wnynet.net.)
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